Chapter 52: No Innocent Girl

Lisa was shocked to see Luna's number appear on her phone. She had not heard from Ian and she only knew that he was out of the country thanks to her contact within the Lee mansion. She answered the phone hesitantly, she had not properly spoken to Luna in almost three years, and she feared something bad had happened. After a few minutes, the pair ended the call.

The conversation was pleasant, but Lisa read too deeply into its meaning. Luna had basically called to check on Lisa, but in Lisa's mind Ian instructed Luna to call and check in on her. Luna even bad mouthed her brother for being 'communicationally challenged'. If Ian had not asked Luna to call, then why would she? This was the only explanation Lisa could come up with. Her friendship with Luna did not end well, and Lisa thought that Luna would not call out of the blue without being asked to do so. She could not have been more wrong.

Luna, on her end, had no idea that her phone call would be misinterpreted. She was merely doing what she wished Lisa would have done back then. She knew she was acting on her emotions, but she could not help it. Luna was the type of person who valued her friendships and connections. The conversation was short, but Luna could sense that Lisa was doing well. Either she did not know about Mina or she did not care. If Lisa knew but did not care, Luna in turn would not care, but if Lisa did not know, how would she feel if she found out? Right now, Luna just wanted to reach out to her old friend to let her know she could always talk to her. If Lisa truly did not know about Mina, who else would she turn to? Surely, it would have to be her.

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Ian drove himself home today. It was late and he did not feel like waking a chauffeur. For nights like this, Ian had two to three cars parked in the garage of his building. He drove around for hours before finally stopping at the gates of his mansion. He had been thinking a lot about the security footage, and he decided it was better for him not to listen to it until after Mina was gone. He did not want pity to soften his decision.

Ian slowly walked up the stairs leading to his front door, and like magic they swung open without him having to touch a thing. His staff was still awake despite the late hour. He dismissed everyone. He was not hungry, and he planned to go straight to bed, there was no need to keep them around for no reason. The butlers and maids all bowed their heads and left.

After dismissing the help around him, Ian sluggishly made his way to his study. He had been in Sani, for nearly a week and had not checked in on Mina in a while. It occurred to him that he had not even left instructions for his subordinates. Other than the person who brought her breakfast in the morning, Mina had little to no human interaction. Without anything else to do he wondered if she had gone completely mad by now.

Ian walked into his study. The rich dark brown leather of the chair at his desk seemed to call for him. He was extremely exhausted. He had not slept for more than three hours a night over the last few days. His arrival in Sani caused a flood of dignitaries to seek him out for an audience. Most of them just wanted to treat him to a meal; simply for bragging rights but others, who kept their ears to the wind, were interested in investing in his newly established weapons facility. Ian was the type to reward due diligence, but only those who showed promise were taken seriously.

In the end, Ian was able to create a bridge between Milo and the daughter of the military director of Sani. The woman's father had been the director of Sani's military for over twenty years, he took his job seriously and although he had seen many unfit leaders, he was a soldier through and through and never questioned his duty. His daughter: Calla Emory, on the other hand, was tired of the political unrest within the nation. She was a charitable woman, and it was not merely for show. When she approached President Lee, she had already had an inkling toward his goal. The man who had been placed as the head of the Lee Group's new weapons facility was no simple engineer; he was also a promising graduate of political science and she wanted to meet him.

Before Ian left Sani, Calla and Milo were in the middle of a heated debate regarding the correlation between weapons regulations and poverty. Seeing that they seemed to be getting on well, he decided not to intervene unless necessary. The pair were still arguing as they waited for Ian to board his personal jet. Seeing this, Ian called Mills over and instructed her to 'remind' her brother of the importance of making this woman their friend. She turned to walk away but had her wrist snatched by Drax, who planted a light kiss on her wrist. If Ian knew then that Drax would have pestered him the entire trip, he would have arranged for them to take separate flights. Now, Ian was in his office, debating with himself as to whether he was actually jealous.

----

Remembering that he had not seen Mina in some time, Ian opened the security footage for her room. When it opened, he jumped out of his seat, rubbed his eyes twice and checked again. He wanted to make sure he was not hallucinating. He was not. There was someone in the room with Mina. The person in the footage handed Mina a brown paper bag and Mina promptly hid the bag under the mattress. Ian's eyes narrowed. He was furious. When had a spy infiltrated his home and what was that person's connection to Mina? He scoffed at himself. Mina was not an innocent girl after all.

Ian swiftly left his study and stood in front of where Mina was being kept in mere seconds. He was astounded to see that there were no guards at the door. Had they betrayed him, or had they been killed? He thought about the calm nature of the servants and decided that he had been betrayed. Pulling a gun from his waist, Ian pulled open the door and frightened both people inside. Mina reacted quickly and pulled the person she had been talking to behind her back. She held both her arms out at her sides in a protective manner as the woman appeared to cower behind her.

Mina did not look good; her complexion was poor, and she had lost too much weight. She was obviously weak and was struggling to stand. Still, Ian strode up to the pair and cocked his gun. He pointed it straight at Mina who did not flinch. Tears began to fall down her face as she begged Ian to let the girl go. She pleaded with him to place the blame solely on her. Stressing that the girl behind her was innocent. Ian's facial expression was complex, but he seemed more confused than anything.

"What did she give you?" he asked, but Mina did not answer.

Keeping his gun trained on the pair, Ian kicked at the Mattress and Mina slowly moved to retrieve the package she was given. Her whole body trembled as she carefully lifted the mattress and removed the bag. When Mina shifted her body, he caught a quick glance of the person behind her and found the woman familiar. Unfortunately, the room was intentionally kept dim, so he could only make out that she was a young woman with blonde hair, who was dressed in a maid's uniform. The girl kept herself pressed so tightly against Mina's back that in the shadows of the room, they appeared to be one person.

Out of the corner of his eye, Ian saw the bag in Mina hand and she shakily lifted it his direction. He snatched the bag and quickly tore it open, only to spill several little pink pillows all over the floor. He stepped on one trying to feel out what it could be, but it just flattened. Ian was confused.

"What are these?" he asked. Mina did not know how to answer the question. Her face turned a shade redder and redder as she opened her mouth and closed it several times. Impatient, Ian shouted.

"SPEAK!" Mina nearly jumped out of her skin. At that exact moment, Ian caught a glimpse of the girl behind Mina and his heart sank.

"Girl come out now!" he shouted, but Mina refused to let the girl go. She continued to beg on the girl's behalf and offered her life in exchange, but Ian ignored her. He wondered to himself how this girl could fix her lips to beg for the life of someone else but not for herself. With tears streaming heavily down her face, Mina looked like a starving artist's depiction of sorrow. Her beauty combined with her sickly appearance and pitiful garbs tugged at Ian's conscience.

Irritated, Ian used his free hand to push Mina out of the way and grabbed the girl she was protecting. Mina, who had been considerably weakened due to her poor diet, could not stand up in time to catch up to them. She tried her best to save the girl but just as she caught up, Ian shut the two heavy doors in her face and locked them. Mina pounded her fists against the door, but it was useless. She collapsed onto the ground and cried bitterly. By accepting that package, she had just committed murder. How was she any better than the people who landed her in this position? The thought devastated her.